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Farmers whose crops are vulnerable to pesticides or who want to go organic will have an option to alert sprayers starting this spring.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture will offer a webinar at 2 p.m. March 27 about a crop registry system called DriftWatch. KDA has contracted with a nonprofit group called Field Watch, founded by staff from Purdue University, to provide the service, according to KDA spokeswoman Beth Riffel.

The site, DriftWatch.org, allows farmers with sensitive crops such as fruits, vegetables and tobacco to register their fields. Beekeepers and organic farmers also can register. Signing up is voluntary.

Companies that spray pesticides aren’t legally required to check the registry, but some choose to do so and adjust their practices to avoid damage to neighboring farms.

Kansas information isn’t yet available on the site, Riffel said, but it will be after the registry goes live this spring. Registries already exist for Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

A person who clicked on the Missouri map could sort the data so the map would show all farms or only organic farms. The data also can be sorted by the product grown. In Missouri, the most common entries were for grapes, organic crops, vegetables and beehives. Clicking on a registry item brings up the approximate size of the farm, its zip code and contact information for the owner.

The webinar is free, but advance registration is required. To sign up, visit agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/pesticide-fertilizer/sensitive-crops-driftwatch.